Friday, December 22, 2006

Empire Death Watch: Iran turns from dollar to euro in oil sales - The Times (London)

David Seaton's News LinksAs any true American knows from birth, the US Dollar is the ultimate, visible and tangible manifestation of God's will on earth and his chosen instrument for expressing it... or so we have always believed... if not in thought and word, surely in deed. So, the subtext of this article could be summed up as, "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," which Jimmy Cox once rendered into American English in the following manner:

Once I lived a life of a millionaire, Spent all my money, didn't have any cares. Took all my friends out for a mighty good time. Bought bootleg liquor champagne and wine.

Then I began to fall so low, Lost all my good friends, had nowhere to go. If I get my hands on a dollar again, I'll hang on to it 'til that old eagle grins.

'Cause no, no, nobody knows you When you're down and out. In your pocket, not one penny, And as for friends, you don't have any.

When you get back on your feet again, Everybody wants to be your long lost friend. I said it straight without any doubt, Nobody knows you when you're down and out.

"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" Words & Music by Jimmy Cox (1923) - Recorded by Eric Clapton, 1992

Iran turns from dollar to euro in oil sales - The TimesAbstract: Iran is selling more of its oil for payment in euros than dollars as it seeks to shift its foreign currency reserves away from the depreciating currency of its political enemy, the United States.(...) Gholanhossein Nozari, the managing director of National Iranian Oil Company, said that 57 per cent of Iran’s income from oil exports was now received in euros. The move reflects a political desire for less reliance on the dollar, as well as a need to avoid further depreciation in currency reserves. Iran’s dollar holdings are thought to have fallen from 40 per cent of currency reserves to just a third.(...) Iran’s decision to switch currencies extends a trend among big oil exporters moving from the dollar as they seek protection from a continuing slide in the petrocurrency’s value.(...) The dollar’s slide protected non-dollar oil importers from the escalation in the price of fuel early this year. Oil was $63 per barrel at the beginning of January, rose to $74 at the start of July and has fallen back to $63 per barrel this month. However, translated into euros, the rise is less impressive — from €53 a barrel to a peak of €58 before a sharp decline to €48. The fall in the dollar against major currencies has had a dramatic impact on the revenues of oil exporters and has exacerbated the rumbling anti- American feeling in the Gulf. Although Gulf Arab states are predominantly dollar export earners, they mainly purchase in euros and yen, buying food, consumer goods and manufactured products from Europe and the Far East. READ IT ALL